


a second life

by prawnstar



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, F/F, I actually don't know what to tag haha, I'd like to tag fond family but I would be lying, Not Canon Compliant, Post-War, no beta - we die like Glenn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 09:35:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29451654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prawnstar/pseuds/prawnstar
Summary: The war has finally ended. Now should've been the time to rebuild Fodlan and eliminate The Slitherers, but some obstacles emerged. Byleth is still weakened from the last battle but is recovering steadily. And while everyone waits for their beloved professor to wake up again, Edelgard discovers the last remnant of her fight against the church. And keeping this a secret turns out to be a challenge.
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg & Rhea, Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 7
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1

They won the war. Fodlan was unified once again after hundreds of years of separation, and yet the battle was far from over. The slitherers are still there and since the Church of Seiros is now out of their way, they could focus on their next target. To eliminate Edelgard, replace her and rule over Fodlan. But it won’t come this far. The Black Eagle Strike Force will wipe them out for good and there will be peace. True peace. This is what Edelgard swore to herself and she is as determined as always to fulfill this oath.

One week passed after the final battle against the Immaculate One in Firdihad. One week since the professor remained unconscious. The loss of her divine powers must have drained the body seriously but she was regenerating well, Professor Hanemann and Manuela assured Edelgard everyday. Byleths’ heart was beating and with each passing day the heartbeat became stronger. And yet the anxiety got the better half of the emperor. What if Byleths life was tied with Rheas after all? Could she even survive this way? There are just so many unanswered questions.

In need of fresh air Edelgard went outside of the Blaiddyd castle - where they intend to remain for as long as Byleth is unconscious, a place she once was familiar with. Bittersweet memories flooding her mind. If Dimitri just would’ve been born into a different world, he could’ve been happy. No one corrupting him, no one pressuring him into a role he was not made for.

Walking through the deserted capital Edelgard lamented the losses the people all over Fodlan had to endure because of her war. Pain. Grief. Hatred. Will the folk follow her on their own or will she enforce her visions on them? She may have won the war but ultimately it is up to the people how she will be remembered, how she will be depicted. She won’t force any extenuation of the truth of war. Future generations shall not romanticize the past.

Lost in thoughts the emperor arrived at the place where they fought against the Immaculate One, against Rhea. Only ruins and debris of a once lively place remaining, the smell of burned flesh still lingering in the air. Scanning the surroundings Edelgard tried to spot Rheas draconic body but couldn’t make it out anywhere. _Where is it?_ She panicked. Since the soil here was too frozen to be digged they decided to bury Rhea on Garreg Mach territory, this was the place she spent most of her time after all. Did Hubert already moved her to the monastery and didn’t let her know? Or did Rheas body maybe re-transform into human form? This seemed like a possible explanation, so Edelgard begun so search on her own. No need to alert the others late at night if there may not even be an issue. But after hours of search she couldn’t find any trace of Rhea. Could it be that she maybe revived anyhow and escaped? But the guards would’ve noticed someone escaping. All entranced to the city were heavily guarded. This couldn’t be. So Edelgard carried on searching. This place got heavily destroyed after all and many buildings collapsed after the fight.

Just as she was about to give up and inform Hubert, the white haired woman heard a distant cry. It sounded a lot like an infant. _How did a baby get here?_ She instantly followed the direction of the cries. They were coming from under a pile of bricks, tiles and heavy stones. How could this infant survive this whole time on their own, without food and in freezing temperatures?

Clearing the obstacles Edelgard finally got a glimpse of what was hiding underneath and her blood begun to run cold. It was indeed an infant. An infant with pointy ears and green hair. This must be Rhea, there is no doubt.

_No. This can not be true._ Edelgard panicked. Shall she tell the others? Or shall she remain silent and dispose her? No, she could never kill a defenseless baby. If Byleth just would’ve been awake, she surely would know how to proceed.

Getting back into her provisional room in the castle without being noticed was at least easy. Thanks to the professor Edelgard took during her academy time lessons in reason and later on refined them. Of course she would never be as advanced as Lysithea or Hubert, but she was advanced enough to use wrap on her own. For a short distance, but still.

Meanwhile the infant calmed down and fell asleep. This gave the white haired woman a moment to closely observe the baby in her arms. She found Rhea naked and therefore used her cape to wrap around.

Soundlessly Edelgard tried to lay the sleeping infant on her bed but as soon as her touch ended Rhea begun to cry, so out of panic the emperor picked her back up and held her even closer. And back in her arms, the baby calmed down almost instantly.

„If I wouldn’t know who you are, I’d say that you seem to like me“ she joked.

Taking the blanket with her from the bed, Edelgard carefully sat down on an armchair near the window and covered her legs up. This seemed like it would be a long night.

But she thought wrong, because very soon someone knocked on the door. Startling her and baby Rhea.

„Hey Edie, are you alright? I thought I heard something and thought I check.. just in case“ Dorotheas voice sounded through the door.

„Dorothea? You’re still awake? Eh- I am fine, nothing to worry!“ She in a shushed voice.

„Edie, why are you whispering? Are you sure you’re alright? This is very unlike you“ the brunettes voice sounded concerned.

Meanwhile baby Rhea grew irritated from the brunettes loud speaking and decided to vocalize her discomfort.

Edelgards eyes grew wide in panic. „Oh no. Pshhh“ she hurriedly whispered and begun to rock her softly in her arms.

A gasp was heard from behind the door and before the white haired woman could say anything the door was already swung open. Both women stared at each other for a moment.

„So I did hear right the first time“ the brunette finally said.

„Yes. Now come in and close the door, Dorothea“ Edelgard commanded in a hushed voice. Baby Rhea meanwhile calmed down again.

Sitting down on the bed, she gestured vaguely towards her friend „Care to explain.. this?“.

Avoiding eye contact Edelgard remained silent.

Eyeing the baby, Dorothea noticed the green hair „Don’t tell me.. Byleth was- “

„No!“ The white haired interrupted her hastily. „Do not continue this line of thought.“ She warned her.

„..so?“ The brunette crossed her arms, growing slowly annoying.

„This is most likely Rhea.“

Green eyes watched her skeptically.

She sighed in defeat „I was walking down the capital just a few hours ago and found her where Rheas draconic body was supposed to be.. I couldn’t just let her there“.

„So you really think that this is Rhea?“ The brunette asked, arms uncrossing.

„There was no other reasonable explanation. The green hair, the pointed ears…either she is Rhea or somehow a part of her“

„Does someone else know?“

„No“

„Hubert?“

„He is on a mission until tomorrow. You are the only one who knows and for now this shall stay this way“ Edelgard warned.

At that the brunette chuckled „Oh Edie, how do you exactly imagine this to work out? You can’t hide a baby and don’t even think about leaving her alone in this room. Do you even have experience with children?“

Slightly blushing in embarrassment the white haired woman lowered her eyes to the ground. Taking a deep breath.

„Unfortunately I do not have any experience with children. Neither do I know how to care for them…“

„And?“ Dorothea smirked.

Rolling her eyes Edelgard noticed that her friend begun to mess with her „And I need your help, Dorothea“.

Silently clasping her hands together the brunette smiled innocently „Oh Edie. Of course I will help you hiding a baby you found on the streets in the middle of the night… so can I hold her?“

Watching the sleeping baby Edelgard contemplated before carefully trying to hand her over, but as soon as she was in Dorotheas arms she begun to cry once again. Startling the two of them.

„Oh my! Who would’ve thought that baby Rhea is so fond of _you_ “ the diva teased while handing her the baby back.

„Dorothea, _please_ “ the white haired begged exasperated.

„Okay okay, I’ll stop. Let me sing a lullaby as an apology“ the songstress giggled.

The soft and calming voice soon took baby Rhea back to sleep and shortly after her followed Edelgard. Dorothea then slowly stopped singing and smiled.

„Oh Edie, your life truly is an opera“ she chuckled silently to herself and made herself comfortable on Edelgards bed for the remaining night.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't wait any longer and had to continue

The next days turned out to be quite challenging, since Edelgard insisted on keeping this whole situation a secret despite Dorotheas protests and Huberts proposal of „discreet disposal“. At least the guards were informed of Rheas body being relocated by Hubert and there were no urgent meetings to attend. So for now most people would not raise suspicion.

Ever since finding baby Rhea in the towns’ ruins Edelgard secluded herself in her room and barely left it due to Rheas capriciousness upon being left alone or with someone else. The infant just didn’t let anyone touch her except for the emperor who grew very exasperated because of it. Additionally she just wouldn’t eat anything which on one part was very concerning but on the other didn’t seem to do any harm, since the green haired infant was still as chubby as she was on their first encounter.

„Edie, I really think you should let our friends know about baby Rhea. She’s here and as it seems you want to keep her“ Dorothea suggested once again.

Taking a deep breath the white haired woman took a moment before replying, watching the infant in her arms carefully „It’s not that I _want_ to keep her but rather that keeping her here is the best option for now“.

„And maybe we could ask our friends for advice“ the brunette wiggled her eyebrows inteasing suggestion.

„To tell the truth, I wish I could talk this through with the professor first. But with her-“ she gestured with her head towards Rhea „It’s difficult to leave the room… It’s been days since I last saw her“ Edelgard frowned slightly.

„Just one more reason to tell our friends. I’m sure we could manage some solution with baby Rhea, don’t you think?“ The songstress smiled.

Contemplating for a moment she sighed in defeat. Dorothea was right, it is impossible to hide Rhea for ever and their friends were nothing but supportive all those years. She needs to trust them more and it’s the best opportunity to prove herself. „Can we start small?“

„So we won’t introduce her to Ferdie for now, then“ Dorothea chuckled slightly. „How about I bring Petra over? She already begun to worry why I spend so much time in your quarters, you know“ she winked.

Lavender eyes grew wide in surprise at this decent confession „Dorothea, are you perhaps..?“

Out of the few times Edelgard saw Dorothea blushing this was the most intense one she saw on the songstress porcelain skin.

Green eyes watched the distant sky through the window while she spoke „She invited me to come with her to Brigid.. and I said yes“

„Why do I hear a but coming?“

„But I am not entirely sure if I was asked as a friend or as something more“ she sighed „At first it did feel as if Petra asked me romantically but ever since our relationship just stayed the same and it now feels as if we’re still just friends. Maybe I did misinterpret after all..“

Seeing her dear friend like this made Edelgard frown in sympathy. She may not be an expert in courtship and love, but she is willing to try her best to help. „Did Petra ask anyone else to come with her to Brigid?“

„I think no“

„And with who does she spend most of her time?“

„That would be me, I guess“ Dorothea blushed slightly „I’m sorry for sounding so banal about this, it’s just- I.. I don’t know. We haven’t had any official dates and neither did we kiss or had other forms of intimacy, if you know what I mean“

„Dorothea.“

„Yes I know I’m whining about nothing, but this is the only form of reassurance about romantic intentions I know“ she sighed.

„Dorothea, I think that you are overthinking all this. And maybe the best way to reassure yourself is to ask Petra herself instead of torturing your mind“ After a short moment she continued „And I know I may not be the wisest person in these matters. As you know I have my own issues with bottling up feelings and shying away from emotional confrontation..but I am trying. And I am sure that you can do this“ Edelgard smiled slightly in encouragement.

„Oh Edie! If my heart wasn’t already somewhere else, I’d fall for you.“ The songstress crossed her hands dramatically in front of her heart. Smirking at the blush she emerged from her white haired friend. „But you are right, let’s confront our problems. Let me go get Petra. But don’t wait too long for me- This probably will take some time“ she winked and stood up from the bed, slowly walking towards the door.

„Do not worry about me“ Edelgard smiled.

And with a small wave Dorothea disappeared through the door, leaving the emperor with the newfound infant alone.

**Author's Note:**

> hi guys!  
> thanks for reading.  
> i had an idea and wanted to write it down, so this will probably be a journey with open plot for now.  
> let's see how it will play out, haha


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